Revenue sharing tussle continues

The tussle over 50-50 revenue sharing between film producers and multiplex owners for the forthcoming releases is getting intense. Multiplex owners strictly said that they will come to the table if the deal is signed on the basis of the performance of a film, otherwise they would prefer to shut shop, said multiplex owners in a discussion forum organised by a private television channel.

“Uniformity in revenue sharing will almost kill talent. Why would filmmakers invest in making better films if they know that a poorly made film will get the same percentage? For films which are good and do well, we are willing to give more than 50 per cent, but for a non-performing movie, why should we adopt the same terms?,’ said Amitabh Vardhan of PVR Cinemas.

On a similar note, Shravan Shroff from Fame Adlabs added, “A flat 50 per cent revenue sharing across four weeks and for all films is simply not feasible for us. We don’t operate on such margins that we can give them such a deal. We would rather shut down our theatres.”

However, Tushar Dhingra, COO, BIG Cinemas has a different offer to make. He said, “Unfortunately we are fighting over a shrinking revenue pie. We had proposed to set up an anti-piracy cell, which could be funded jointly by us and then we must work towards increasing the revenue pie. Our offer, unfortunately, was met with silence.”

The negotiations over 50-50 revenue rationalisation between the two parties started around February. As a result, the Film and Television Producers Guild of India decided early March not to push any new releases in multiplexes across the country April 3 onwards. But the strike was then postponed to April 4 onwards, allowing the release of Nagesh Kukunoor’s Akshay Kumar starrer ‘8X10 Tasveer’ on April 3.

However, they also pointed out that if the strike continues for too long, it might change the movie viewing habits of the audience and and they will be forced to look at alternate contents like screening IPL matches or even music shows.